My first nemesis was the Peregrine Falcon. I’d been birding for two years, and I wanted to see one so badly. I tried all the spots other birders were finding them, and scoured eBird for recent reports. Nothing. Why was everyone else seeing Peregrine Falcons except me? Did they know I was coming? Did they raise the alarm, like those crazy dogs from 101 Dalmatians? After a full year of searching, I finally caught up with a Peregrine—sitting on a snag in Scarborough Marsh. It was a triumph. I quickly found a new nemesis. This time it was the Red Crossbill. After I came up empty on multiple-long drives to their “guaranteed” habitat, I couldn’t help but hold a grudge. It became personal. Again, my eventual encounter, this time in Aspen, Colorado, wasn’t just a sighting: It was a vanquishing. You know how in the Batman comics every week there’s a weird new villain in town? Well, I’m Batman. I’ve had a rotating cast of nemesis birds my whole birding life (and...